Big Brother didn't reveal the official reason Arthur had decided to leave, but fellow housemate Lotan guessed that it was probably because the housemates had "all had a pop at him at some point", and it turns out he wasn't far off the mark.

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"It all became way too much. I felt bullied and isolated," Arthur told former Big Brother housemate Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace for The Sun. "But at the same time I didn't want to allow myself to become a victim.

"I knew what I was doing the whole time, winding people up, but it didn't come from a place of malice.

"Every year Big Brother has a 'cool group' consisting of the young, good looking models. They treat the rest of us as their inferiors and that infuriated me!

"One of my biggest fears in the house was how I was being perceived from the outside."

The official comment given to viewers about Arthur's exit was: "After a confidential, off-camera conversation, Arthur will not be returning to the house."

And a Channel 5 spokesperson told Digital Spy: "While Arthur was in the house, his well-being was constantly closely monitored. Arthur left the house for reasons unconnected with the statements he has now made to The Sun Online."